Use of a Stevia extract as a sweetening agent has been well-known prior to completion of the present invention.
The present inventor has participated in the study of extracts from Stevia for many years, and he has already developed various inventions and filed patent applications to claim them. For instance, there may be mentioned a method of ripening a concentrated liquid, extracted from Stevia leaves by a special method, to prepare a sweetener (Japanese Published Kokai No. 3-127959); a horticultural manure obtained by fermenting an extract from a mixture of leaves and Stevia stems and a method of preparing the same (Japanese Published Kokia No. 3-220109); a bath lotion obtained by fermenting an extract from Stevia stems and a method of preparing the same (Japanese Published Kokai No. 3-151321); and a remedy for skin diseases and blood circulation promoting agent, obtained by concentrating, fermenting and ripening an extract from completely ripened Stevia stems, and a method of preparing the same (Japanese Published Kokai No. 4-66535).
The present inventor further researched and developed the above-mentioned inventions whereupon he has found that a substance obtained by concentrating, fermenting and ripening a Stevia extract is useful as an external medicine, especially, for preventing and curing disorders of the digestive organs. On the basis of these findings, he has completed the present invention.